Hicks rap for Rafa

Co-owner tells manager to stop talking

By Peter Fraser   Last updated: 23rd November 2007

Gillett and Hicks

Gillett and Hicks: No transfer talk

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Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has told Rafa Benitez to stop talking about new players and concentrate on steering the Reds towards success.

Reds manager Benitez is thought to have been recently angered after being told by Hicks and co-owner George Gillett, who are based in the United States, to forget about any possible transfers until closer to the January transfer window.

Hicks has defended the financial support offered to Benitez, who spent a Reds record fee in the pre-season to bring in Fernando Torres and the Anfield boss also splashed out on Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel, and insists the Spaniard should concentrate on players already at Liverpool.

"After the UEFA Champions League final in Athens, Rafa made certain demands of us and we responded to those demands in the summer," Hicks told the Liverpool Echo.

"We brought in some good players and spent more money than has ever been spent before at this club.

Frustration

"We now have some crucial games coming up in the Premier League and the Champions League and we want to see if we can win these games with the players we have.

"This was the message we gave to Rafa recently and I think during the international break he must have grown a bit frustrated about this.

"We told him to concentrate on the games coming up and nothing else and I guess he didn't like that.

"But, for the time being, we just need to be focused on what happens on the pitch.

"George and I will be over in mid-December and that is the time to talk about other issues. It is really time for Rafa to quit talking about new players and to coach the players we have."